In recent weeks, there’s been some debate about the popularity of the Xbox One’s backward compatibility functionality — after a report was published that indicated not many users took advantage of the feature. Microsoft shot back, saying that the data was inaccurate. Now, the company has confirmed a major expansion of the program.
During today’s conference at E3 2017, Xbox head Phil Spencer confirmed that the company’s engineers are hard at work bringing original Xbox games to the Xbox One. Not many specifics were given in terms of the titles set to be made available, but Spencer did pledge that some of the community’s “favorite” games would make the cut.
The only game that was confirmed for Xbox backward compatibility was the cult favorite Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge. The game is still appreciated for its stylized 1930s-inspired production design and engrossing arcade gameplay.
High Road to Revenge was an early Xbox Live hit, but it hasn’t been re-released since its debut in 2003. The fact that Microsoft chose to promote Xbox backward compatibility with this game might give an indication of its intentions — a focus on overlooked titles and diamonds in the rough.
This kind of strategy will appeal to hardcore gamers, especially those who have been with the Xbox brand since the beginning. We saw evidence of this when the long-gestating remake of Phantom Dust was released for free earlier this year.
Spencer confirmed that Xbox backward compatibility is coming to the Xbox One before the end of 2017, but he didn’t offer up a specific date at this time. We expect to hear more about which games are set for inclusion over the coming months — but fans will likely be preparing their wishlists already.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.